Acta Musealia

Hymn Books in Collections and Libraries of the Museum of the South East Moravia in Zlín

The Museum of South East Moravia in Zlín owns more than two hundred signed pieces of hymn literature containing religious songs to be sung during the mass services. These song books represent an interesting collection of religious song writing from the year 1618 until the second half of the 20th century. Hymn books, psalm books and funeral books formed, together with Bibles, a link between the religious and personal life as their contents often supplemented religious storytelling, catechism as well as religious preaching. The same as the Bible, the religious song books were treated with reverence and passed from generation to generation and so they become a witness to the evolution of religious thinking as well as daily life of the believers in our region. And last but not least they document considerable trust of the common people in regional museum societies to which they during the 1930s and the 1940s entrusted these family treasures often containing a number of family notes, devotional graphics but also completions of the song repertoire. Thanks to the enthusiasm of these donors we can now take pride in these gems, such as indubitably are Religious Evangelical Songs (1618), Capella Regia (1693) with some very interesting regional additions and several editions of hymn books by Třanovský, Elsner, Fryčaj or Bečák. Of great regional significance of this collection is also a manuscript Hymn Book of Zlín Organ Players (1843 - 1927). This collection also notably completes the picture of religious evolution in South East Moravia. It is worth noticing that examples in our collection from the 17th, 18th and the first half of the 19th century are represented almost exclusively by prints of evangelical provenience, while in the second half of the 19th century and in the 20th century, this ratio is reversed. It is a testimony of a rich religious diversity in our region, where, especially in some of the villages (Zádveřice, Jasenná, Lutonina, Vizovice), the inhabitants adhered to their protestant beliefs in spite of a long period of re-Catholicization, which, however, in the end won even in the South East Moravia. On the other hand, the gates of religious music and songs guiding us through the whole life are, thanks to these hymn books, open to everyone, irrespective of religion and, the same as centuries ago, they offer consolation and motivation in a human's life, of which singing is an inseparable and essential part.

Keywords: hymn books, song books, psalm books, religious music, liturgy, old prints, book collections, museum libraries